


spill that blood!

by noair (orphan_account)



Category: Produce 101 (TV), X1 (Korea Band)
Genre: Murder, Psychological Horror, non consensual stabbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 20:00:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21258821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/noair
Summary: hangyul meets seungwoo at three in the morning. everything goes to shit from there.





	spill that blood!

**Author's Note:**

> happy halloween !

hangyul meets seungwoo outside his apartment complex at three in the morning. it’s three in the morning and god, hangyul should know it all too well. for how many times had he walked in the dark all alone, struggling to understand the true value he held?

nonetheless, hangyul meets seungwoo outside his apartment complex at three in the morning. by the time hangyul sees seungwoo in front of him, his eyes have more or less adjusted to the pitch black of night and the younger man rubs his eyes in disbelief when the outline of seungwoo’s body clouds his vision. for a few seconds, hangyul wonders if perhaps this man in front of him has come for the same reason as hangyul- but this thought is quickly forced to the back of his mind, deciding not to dwell on it any longer. with a cautious grasp, hangyul reaches out and rests a single hand on seungwoo’s shoulder.

“are you lost?” they’re the only words that manage to make to escape hangyul’s lips. not the insecurities, the doubts, the fears, but the three words that portray a concerned neighbour rather than a paranoid recluse. hangyul wants to scream. he doesn’t in the end.

the man turns to face hangyul and under the small sliver of light cast by a sudden clearing of clouds, hangyul can see a subtle smile flash across the man’s face.

“oh… perhaps i am. i’m not quite sure myself. but you look kind enough- what’s your name?” the man lets his words drawl out, taking the time to enunciate each syllable while simultaneously watching hangyul’s reaction. when the two make eye contact, hangyul feels a shiver travel down his spine. his hands suddenly feel cold.

“a-ah_!_ i’m sorry, i should have introduced myself first.” it is not hangyul’s responsibility to apologise, for he is not in the wrong, but hangyul does so anyways. at this point it is more instinct than anything. there’s a short pause where the two men don’t talk and instead listen to the sound of crickets chirping in nearby the trees. taking in a deep breath, hangyul continues. “i’m lee hangyul. i live on the fifteenth floor of that apartment building,” hangyul points to where his room should be. “do you live here? sorry if i disturbed you. i just didn’t expect to see anyone out here at this time.”

the man observes where hangyul points and immediately walks past him, following where he has just directed to. “hangyul? you don’t mind if we drop the formalities, do you? that’s lovely.” the man’s voice quickly becomes faint until hangyul realises that he has entered the apartment complex. shaking his head in disbelief, hangyul does the only thing there is to do. he follows the man.

“my name is han seungwoo. but i’m sure you already knew that,” seungwoo waits patiently in the dingy elevator hallway. the light in the hallway is half-broken, with one side casting light towards the door while seungwoo’s side is cast in darkness. hangyul runs into the building, panting from the sudden burst of exercise. it has been a while since he has had to run that far, hangyul thinks. perhaps two years? “never mind. disregard that comment, actually.” seungwoo furrows his brows for a moment but returns to his bright expression in a matter of seconds. “tell me more about you, hangyul. i’m sure you’re a very, very interesting person.”

“oh, i’m really not.” hangyul waves this off, a bit embarrassed by the sudden compliment. it has also been a while since he has last been complimented. “there’s nothing much to me. i’m a freelance website programmer, if that’s anything.”

the elevator arrows light up and the two enter, with seungwoo pressing the ‘15’ button instead of hangyul. when hangyul goes to thank the other, he catches a glimpse of the man’s face. seungwoo’s expression does not look happy- in fact, perhaps furious.

“that’s not what i meant.” seungwoo deadpans, eye twitching back at him in the reflection of the elevator door. hangyul waits for seungwoo to speak again, but the other man says nothing. instead, they travel in the elevator in silence for the rest of the way up. hangyul mentally takes note that his pocket knife lies within his right coat pocket.

thankfully, nothing much happens for the rest of ride (although it takes almost two minutes for them to arrive on the fifteenth floor). hangyul exits first and seungwoo follows. thankfully, there’s only two rooms per floor and hangyul’s door sits exactly opposite of the elevator. when hangyul reaches for his keys, he’s shocked to realise that they are not in any of his pockets.

“fuck-“ hangyul bites down on his lower lip, hurriedly making glances back and forth from seungwoo to the pocket where his keys are supposed to be.

“dropped these?” seungwoo casually pulls a pair of keys from his own coat pocket and throws them to hangyul. stunned, the man stammers a thanks.

“then… i’ll see you? you’re my neighbour, aren’t you?” hangyul assumes this is the only possible reason seungwoo has followed him to the fifteenth floor. it seems plausible, considering he has never met his neighbour. when hangyul thinks about it, there was a good possibility that seungwoo was in fact his elusive neighbour after all.

seungwoo rolls his eyes at this comment. though the hallway is dark, hangyul can still see seungwoo’s arms tense up and the step forward he takes.

“not what i had in mind…” the older man murmurs mostly to himself, snatching the keys from hangyul’s hands and forcibly entering the apartment room.

there are a few things that hangyul has prepared himself for in his short life. he has taken his fair share of self-defense classes (maybe more than _fair_\- he practically lived in the practice studio as a college student), so there’s no question in his knowledge about protecting himself. yet, hangyul feels himself freeze up when seungwoo enters his room and finds a seat on his sofa. it takes multiple calls of his own name for hangyul to snap out of it, dazedly walking into the room and closing the door behind him. hangyul doesn’t bother turning on the lights. seungwoo chuckles in delight at this reaction and pats the seat next to him on the sofa. hangyul sits down obediently.

“when i say you’re an interesting person i do not mean your job. in fact, hangyul, you’re probably the most boring person to live in this complex if we talk in terms of what you do for a living. absolutely boring_!_ it’s so funny- you know? you really did get so excited when i said that… but no, i’m talking about something else.” seungwoo sits up on the couch and picks up one of the magazines on the coffee table in front of him. “have you ever delved deep into your own conscious? i can tell you have a plethora of interesting thoughts, hangyul, but you don’t take the time to think about them. you’re sick. you know that. there are so many things that you have thought of unconsciously but have never acted on. i’ll help you. i know what you have thought of on nights like these.”

upon hearing this spiel, hangyul immediately stands up from the couch. he is no longer afraid, but no longer wants to hear the ugly words that pour from seungwoo’s mouth. before he can leave, however, seungwoo grabs onto hangyul’s wrist.

seungwoo yanks hangyul down to his level and moves closer to him. with his lips only inches away from the younger man’s ear, seungwoo whispers something. hangyul sucks in a deep breath and feels the blood drain from his face. how could seungwoo have known?

✝

hangyul has grown to pity seungwoo. he probably shouldn’t, seeing how the other man could probably end his life in a matter of minutes, but hangyul still does anyways. seungwoo only emerges from the spare bedroom hangyul has (graciously) lent him only in the darkest hours, coming out with bedhead and a stifled yawn. hangyul works late into the night and has trouble sleeping, so he doesn’t usually mind the added company. it’s only when seungwoo begins to make conversation does the appearance finally start to become annoying. hangyul scratches his head in frustration when seungwoo turns on the boiler to try and make coffee.

“let’s do it tonight.” seungwoo throws out, stirring a spoon around in his mug to dissolve a packet of sugar into the piping hot liquid. “you might as well. you don’t have much going for you in this life and i think we should both get it over with.”

hangyul ignores this comment and continues to type away code, focusing more on building the website for his new client rather than seungwoo’s guilt-laced words.

“oh come on, you’re ignoring me? what’s this website going to make you in the end- you don’t even spend your money unless you absolutely need to… god, imagine all the supplies we could get with your income. think, it’d be a much easier ordeal. just get a couple body bags, shovels, maybe a few steaks? let them rot for a few days and then bury the bodies below the steaks and-“

“do you ever shut up?” hangyul turns around in his chair to face seungwoo. seungwoo is still stirring the spoon around in the mug. “if you really want me to do it tomorrow, i will. just… just give me a second, alright? it’s not as simple as just _saying_ it.”

the older man shrugs. “it is though. you’re so uptight, did you know that? i sometimes wonder why you don’t have any friends, but this really reminds me of the reason why.”

✝

seungwoo dumps three shopping bags onto the ground. in them are various items, ranging from utility gloves, a round saw, and a tube full of zip ties. hangyul makes a disgusted expression when seungwoo presents them to him with a cheerful voice, quickly explaining the function of each one.

“oh my_!_” seungwoo feigns surprise once he’s done going through each item, “i totally forgot- you already know all the uses of these_!_ silly me, i could have saved you the time.” seungwoo laughs to himself like he has just told the world’s funniest joke.

“forget it.” hangyul mumbles over seungwoo’s laughter, letting one hand rub at his temples while the other fidgets nervously. “you checked the list right? everything is in these bags?” hangyul gestures anxiously to them. when seungwoo nods, the younger man breathes a sigh of relief. at least something would be right that night.

“then let’s just get this over with. you told me you would cover my back. i expect you to do so.” hangyul reaches for the wall and turns on the lights to take a closer look at the items. when hangyul looks up again to mention something to seungwoo, hangyul finds that seungwoo is not there. not surprised, the man shrugs, assuming that he has perhaps retreated back to his room. it’s nothing out of the ordinary, so hangyul goes back to looking through the bags. what’s odd, he thinks, is that the receipts state that hangyul himself had paid for the items. hangyul could have sworn he had never lent seungwoo his credit card, however.

after collecting his thoughts, hangyul takes the necessary items and slings a bag filled to the brim over his shoulder. turning off the lights and opening the door, hangyul turns to look behind him. “aren’t you coming?”

suddenly, seungwoo appears out from the guest bedroom. almost like a child, the man skips towards hangyul, brushing past him to exit the room. “of course. let’s hurry up_!_”

the two make their way to the parking garage below the apartment. surprisingly, hangyul still owns a car (despite having not used it for the past few months). seungwoo hops into the shotgun seat, impatiently tapping his fingers against the dashboard. when hangyul enters the car, he grips the steering wheel so hard that imprints of his nails can be seen in the rubber. seungwoo teases hangyul about this but he doesn’t pay attention. he’s more focused on calming his beating heart.

“you still know the address by heart?” seungwoo asks, for once interested in what hangyul has to say. seungwoo rests his arm up on the car’s glove box, letting his cheek fall against his palm in order to face the younger man. there’s a moment of silence where hangyul doesn’t know what to say- he does in fact know the address still, but there is something in him that makes him feel wary in admitting this fact. after all, what he was about to do was in essence a betrayal of all his feelings.

“i don’t, actually. just recite it for me. i know my way around town.” hangyul snaps out of his own trance and gestures for seungwoo to hurry up. seungwoo shrugs.

“no, you know it. i won’t comment on it anymore- just go.”

hangyul starts the engine and quickly exits the garage. oddly, hangyul has missed the feeling of his foot on the pedal, his hands on the steering wheel, and the first push that the car gives way to when he twists the key in the ignition. it is dark outside, no later than midnight. though there may still be people outside, it is highly unlikely given that hangyul lives in a pretty rural town.

so hangyul drives. he drives under the night stars, sometimes glancing up into the sky to take a quick peak at the glimmering objects above. hangyul still remembers these streets all too well, but is too ashamed to admit so. he feels as if seungwoo is judging him for all of this, but doesn’t allow himself to think too much into it.

“how long were you two together?” when hangyul turns his head to face the direction in which the voice came from, he sees that seungwoo’s feet are now propped against the glove box, the back of his seat pushed to the limit.

hangyul sucks in a deep breath, shakily letting it go before carding a hand through his hair. “i’d say about three years. i didn’t count them, to be honest. it still hurt though. it’s been maybe a year since we broke up? yeah. it sucked.”

more silence follows but this time it doesn’t feel as awkward. this sudden glimpse of vulnerability is something hangyul has never shared with seungwoo. at first, hangyul feels almost relieved at the sensation, letting his shoulders fall back down and his grip on the steering wheel relax. but then, hangyul realises something. does he even know anything personal about seungwoo?

hangyul opens his mouth to say something but seungwoo interrupts him before he can. “ah, looks like we’re here.” hangyul abruptly steps on the breaks and lunges forward. when he finally sits back up and looks out the window, he sees that seungwoo is right. they have arrived at seungyoun’s house.

“alright,” seungwoo gets out of the car and heads to the trunk where all the items are stored, “i told you the quickest way to do this is just to snap their necks, but i’m not sure if you still wanted to do that considering…” his voice trails off and he emerges back in the car with a knife and handgun. “i suppose you could stab him. or perhaps just shoot him point blank? i don’t think the gun would be a good idea though- too noisy.”

“just leave it to me.” hangyul grumbles, snatching the knife from seungwoo but leaving the gun in the glove compartment. “watch my back, alright? i swear to god if i come back and the car is gone-“

“relax, relax. i can’t even drive.” the older man feigns offense, putting a hand to his heart in exaggeration. “just go in there and do it. it will feel _so fucking good_.” seungwoo lets these words linger in the air for a moment, reaching up to trace his bottom lip. “good luck_!_” he chirps suddenly, moving over the seat to give a small pat on the back to hangyul. “you’ll do great.”

✝

hangyul has never murdered a person before. he thinks that this should probably be a given, but in the current situation he’s in, he thinks it fit to process that statement one more time before it changes. with the knife attached to his belt and with sweaty palms, hangyul uses the key (given to him so long ago) to unlock the back door of the house. it’s a small, cottage-esque place just off the main roads. there aren’t many people who live around and perhaps that’s why seungyoun bought it. in the past there had been conversations about why seungyoun had moved from seoul to such a small, quaint town, and they had always ended up with hangyul being more infatuated with seungyoun than he had only minutes before. but that was all in the past and hangyul preferred to not think about it.

when hangyul steps inside the building, everything is quiet. the tranquil feeling is soon interrupted by the loud snoring coming from across the hall, leading into the master bedroom. hangyul still remembers the layout all too well, which brings troubled thoughts back to his mind. shaking his head, he ventures in.

as it is instinct, hangyul first takes off his shoes. it has been years but he still remembers this common courtesy. god, why was he even doing all of this?

the man moves closer and closer to the bedroom, breathing a sigh of relief when he realises that the door is unlocked. there, in the bed in front of him, hangyul can see seungyoun sleeping peacefully next to a snoring wooseok. disgusting, hangyul thinks. absolutely, horribly, disgusting.

hangyul’s face contorts into the most grotesque expression he can muster, using his entire will power to restrain himself from spitting on either one of their faces. how ugly they both looked_!_ but, as time would have it, hangyul had work to do. with trembling hands and a set mind, hangyul seized seungyoun’s throat and began to press down as hard as he could, remembering the certain points made during his college defense classes.

a garbled choking sound escapes seungyoun’s throat as the man wakes up and stares up at hangyul. he can feel seungyoun’s throat tense under his hands as he realises who the unknown intruder is. for a split second, the two make eye contact and both understand what hangyul is there for. a few moments of struggle later, there is only silence. the thrashing in bed had yet to wake up wooseok, which surprised hangyul. it seemed unnatural.

carefully, hangyul moves to the other side of the bed. though his entire body is shaking, there is a sort of high he has gotten from strangling seungyoun. reaching up to touch his own face, hangyul realises that he is actually smiling. it seems morbid, but hangyul enjoys it. seungwoo was right. it did feel good.

hangyul grasps the knife without any thought, casually twisting it in his fingers before plunging it straight into wooseok’s forehead. blood splatters everywhere- onto the backboard of the bed, onto the sheets, onto seungyoun’s body, and even some splotches on hangyul’s face. chuckling to himself, hangyul uses the back of his hand to wipe the hot, sticky liquid off of himself. in the dark hangyul can see the dark smears appear on his hand. he grins triumphantly at his own mess.

quietly, hangyul heads back to the driveway of the house. thankfully, seungwoo is standing outside the car door, looking up at the sky to watch the clouds pass by.

“let’s get this shit cleaned up.” hangyul mutters, walking past seungwoo and taking a couple of trash bags from the trunk.

“someone looks like they had a fun time…” seungwoo raises an eyebrow but follows suit, dutifully trailing behind hangyul into the house.

✝

so maybe hangyul has murdered two people before. he doesn’t consider it a big sin- it’s only two people and there’s bounds of others who have killed more- but they had it coming for them. it was only a matter of time before hangyul snapped and did something stupid.

surprisingly, the police don’t notice this murder until a few days later. it makes sense, given that seungyoun’s house is near the coast and people don’t visit often. they only find out later when wooseok’s boss calls in to report a missing person and the cops find a few specks of blood on the hardwood floor that the two had missed when going over the entire bedroom for any evidence that could be found. when hangyul reads the news report the following week, he internally curses himself for being so foolish.

it’s a saturday afternoon and hangyul and seungwoo are out at a bar near the city. seungwoo doesn’t talk for the entire car ride there, but quickly becomes animated once he realises how dark the atmosphere is and the lack of adequate lighting. it’s all hangyul _wants_ to afford but seungwoo seems mildly pleased with the decision.

“i don’t mind it,” seungwoo explains when hangyul asks why he’s alright with cheaper liquor. “it’s just better to keep it on the down low, i suppose.”

the two keep to their private room for a while, sometimes coming out to ask for more food or drinks. when the two emerge, it’s almost near midnight and a noisy group of teenage boys sit at one of the tables near the entrance. the tallest one, a boy with bright blond hair, stretches and gestures for all of his friends to come closer.

“we gotta leave soon… my mom’s gonna kick my ass if she finds out we all went drinking after the game.” he yawns, causing the rest of the boys to groan in complaint.

“ms. kang won’t mind- she’ll only kick _your_ ass. you know she doesn’t care whenever we come over to your place but always complains about you.” another boy speaks up, fiddling with the curly locks that adorn his head.

“minhee is probably right- we should get going before it’s too dark.” another boy who seems to be similar to the blond boy’s height stands up, everyone complaining but still following suit.

“thank you eunsang_!_ finally, someone who actually listens to me.” minhee throws his hands in the air, exasperated.

after this ordeal is finished and the group of five boys leave the bar, seungwoo turns towards hangyul.

“let’s kill them.” he plainly states, taking a final sip of a bottle of soju before placing the empty glass on a nearby table. hangyul swiftly turns to face the older man, shocked that he would just say that in a public setting. though there aren’t that many people around, it is still a bold statement to say out in the open.

“seungwoo-“ hangyul seethes, grabbing seungwoo’s arm and quickly walking out of the establishment. “you can’t just fucking say that_!_”

seungwoo shrugs for what seems to be the umpteenth time, paying no mind to hangyul’s distressed tone. “no one heard me anyways. besides, those kids were so annoying. it’d be so easy just to stab each one and throw their bodies in the nearby river…” seungwoo trails off, leaving the rest of hangyul’s imagination.

for a split second, hangyul is torn. there is too much bloodlust that courses through his veins, pumping at high speeds that infiltrate even the quietest of times. hangyul can’t help but press his palms against his ears, trying to make the noise stop. this is no use. hangyul feels obligated to do it. seungwoo has planted the seed of doubt in his mind and all that he needs to make it grow is to just _think_ about it. the thrill, the sensation, the pleasure- it all came back to him. he needed that dopamine rush. he needed to feel good.

“fuck you,” hangyul bites back when he has finished making up his mind, keeping his eye on the drunk group of teenagers that wobble down the dark alleyway and back to their friend’s house. seungwoo nods. he has already known the final decision before he had even mentioned it.

as if this entire ordeal was planned, seungwoo pulls a pair of gloves from his coat pocket and two clean knives. “have fun_!_ i’ll be waiting with more supplies later.” seungwoo’s voice sounds sweet but hangyul knows if he turns around to face the man he’ll only see the expression of another blood-hungry individual. it scares hangyul, but this is who they are. it will only take a few more times before he finally accepts it.

hangyul moves stealthily through the winding alleyways, keeping close behind as not to lose sight of the group but far enough that they do not suspect anything is wrong. it helps that they are all hopelessly drunk, with the shortest one relying on two other boys for support. hangyul sighs at this, thinking about his old school days. he never really seemed to have close friends to drink with. he envied the group of boys.

when the boys suddenly stop as they have mistakenly come to a dead end, hangyul finds his chance to strike. with a tight grasp on the two knives, hangyul plunges one into the back of the two tallest boys’ heads, using their delayed sense of time to pull them out swiftly and stick them back in between the eyes of the other two boys. when only one is left, hangyul watches as he stutters something in fear, watching the blood quickly drain from his friends’ heads.

hangyul laughs at this. twirling one of the dirtied knives in his hands, hangyul finally speaks up. “i’ll give you the option- do you want me to stab your guts and leave you dying on the street or would you like me to choke you to death? trust me, they’re both painful.” the boy seems to actually ponder this for a moment before seeing his chance. the boy starts to make a break for it but hangyul is faster. he has been trained by seungwoo ever since. he is a changed man.

the boy is quickly tackled the ground, the pavement scraping against his cheek so that blood starts to pour from the gash.

“god, kids these days are so idiotic. you can’t even defend yourself?” hangyul chides the boy while standing on his legs, feeling satisfied when he hears one of the boy’s leg bones crush into pieces when he stomps on it. “well, you’re too late. looks like i’ll just do it the alternative way.” hangyul reaches for the dropped knife and thrusts it straight into the boy’s neck, leaving it there so that he can hear the gurgling of blood that pours from the boy’s neck and mouth and onto the road. though hangyul’s clothes are all bloodied, he is sure he can fix it later.

in the distance, a car’s headlights flash onto the dead bodies. hangyul recognises this as his own car and quietly rushes to get in. in the driver’s side sits seungwoo, clearly shaken by his own horrendous driving skills.

“how the hell do people drive these things? why does the speed change based on the pressure of the pedal?” seungwoo’s voice shakes when he talks, not even batting an eyelid at the bodies he slings into the multiple body bags that sat in the car.

“idiot,” hangyul mumbles under his breath, watching as seungwoo helps to throw the zipped up bags into the trunk. “do you happen to have a spare change of clothes and shoes? we’ll need to burn these once we get back to the apartment.”

“i’m already on it. check the back seat.” seungwoo calls out, finishing up the last body before switching into the passenger seat.

hangyul hops in the driver’s seat and grips the steering wheel once more. without the gloves, his hands bear no marks of blood, and his fresh clothes carry not even a single drop. it’s only when hangyul looks into the driver mirror and sees the dried blood that has been smeared disgustingly across his face does he realise what he has actually done.

✝

hangyul thinks that he might have a problem when he looks outside his apartment window one night and sees one of the neighbourhood boys coming home from school late. his backpack is slung over one shoulder and he stares at his smartphone absentmindedly, scrolling through some social media page that hangyul isn’t privy to. seungwoo comes over from across the room to look over hangyul’s shoulders and see what is so interesting when he spots the boy too.

“that’s dohyun. i think he’s one of the landlord’s son. he’s a pretty cute kid. when i first moved here he used to beg me to take him to the playground all the time.” hangyul chuckles to himself, remembering the times gone by. there was a certain fondness he had for the child, though it had been a while since the boy acted like that. now, as a freshman in high school, hangyul found it hard to even hold a meaningful conversation with then teenager.

seungwoo is silent. he continues to stare out the window, his expression troubled.

“what’s wrong?” hangyul asks, detecting no ulterior motives that may lie behind his appearance.

“i think…” seungwoo starts off, taking a deep breath. “i think you should kill him. he’s obviously troubled. his parents neglect him. take him out of his misery- it’s the only way.”

hangyul blinks. then hangyul blinks again, just for clarification. “what?” he asks, scoffing as he is sure seungwoo is making a joke. “you want me to kill dohyun?”

“yeah,” seungwoo nonchalantly puts out, “why not? i told you- he’s in pain. you’d understand, hangyul. i think you also want the best for dohyun, too. just do it.”

there’s a moment of hesitation where hangyul does not know what to do. in all his previous killings, there had been a certain moment of pleasure that he had received from the act of the murder. he had hated, to an extent, his victims, which seemed to make the action even more enjoyable. yet, with someone like dohyun, it would hurt to physically pain someone that meant so much to him. of course, they had not talked in over a few months, but hangyul still felt a deeper connection. it would be an odd decision if he chose to follow seungwoo’s suggestion.

seungwoo grabs hangyul by the shoulders. “do it, coward. you want the best for him. we want the best for him.”

in that moment, something in hangyul changes. those few words that come from seungwoo’s lips seem to change everything and almost mechanically, hangyul makes his way to the kitchen. there is a container of cyanide that sits in the cupboards. when seungwoo had brought the container home, hangyul had dismissed it and never thought of it twice. now, it seemed that it would finally come in use.

taking a bottle of soda from the refrigerator, hangyul dumps a large portion of cyanide into the bottle, watching as the carbonation fizzed around but eventually died out. closing the lid once he’s done, hangyul heads down the stairs and into the courtyard where dohyun was last seen. he hopes that the entire ordeal would be quick and painless.

when hangyul makes it to the courtyard, dohyun is still sitting on one of the benches, scrolling through text messages with a pencil between his teeth.

“hey, dohyun. isn’t it a bit late for you to still be out here?” the moon hangs brightly in the sky. though it is not that late for hangyul’s standards, it is still a school day and hangyul wonders how late dohyun usually gets home. “actually, never mind. it’s alright. i remember when i was your age i’d sleep around two in the morning every night. it really gets hard, i know.”

hangyul quietly takes a seat next to dohyun, who has since shut off his phone and looked up at the night sky.

“here,” hangyul shoves the soda into dohyun’s hands, “i got it from the vending machine. you don’t need to pay me back or anything. i just hope you’re doing alright in school.”

dohyun silently nods, looking at the bottle before flashing a feeble grin hangyul’s way.

“thanks, hyung. it really means a lot to me.” dohyun lets a shaky sigh escape his lips before standing up, grabbing his backpack with him. “you’re right though, i should probably get going soon. thanks for looking out for me. i really hope we can talk more soon, i missed being with you out here.” before dohyun enters in the opposite apartment complex, he waves towards hangyul. the man feels a sharp pain in his heart and knows that he has made the right decision.

✝

the five boys’ bodies are never found. the afternoon news makes a huge deal out of it, especially as the location of the murders were close to seoul. hangyul follows the news story almost like a game, laughing to himself and cutting out newspaper clippings when they report a false lead that he knows will take them back to where they started. dohyun, on the other hand, died peacefully in his sleep the next day. there was a funeral procession in which hangyul was invited to. he never went, but still watched mournfully as a few residents exited the building one gloomy saturday afternoon donning all black. hangyul had expressed these sad feelings to seungwoo but the older man had only laughed and retreated into his own room.

on this particular day, hangyul has finally gotten another date after three years. hangyul’s personality has completely changed, no longer the timid, social recluse but now the confident, assertive man that would go out to socialise every friday night. seungwoo still hung around, making a few snide comments here and there, but for the most part, hangyul’s murdering days were over. he had gotten a few kicks out of the first few victims, relishing in their pain, but now hangyul had decided that enough was enough. he had done his fair share of killing and it was finally time for it to be cast aside.

his name is yohan. he just so happens to be hangyul’s new apartment neighbour and hangyul swears that every time he looks at him, he can hear his heart thump in his chest so loud that anyone around him would be able to hear it too. there are stars that reside in yohan’s eyes and angel’s laughter that comes from every word he speaks. there is only good to be found in yohan. he is perfect.

hangyul finds himself sitting across from yohan in a high class restaurant on that friday evening, sharing a glass of wine and making casual jokes. it is then and there that hangyul thinks that yohan must be made for him. there has been no one else who has clicked with him this easily.

when the two are done eating and yohan suggests they both walk back to the bus stop in which they both took, hangyul agrees and travels down a lamp-lit street with the other man by his side. they talk about trivial things, like the recent world cup match and the latest idol group to win first place on mcountdown. it’s these little things that make hangyul’s heart soar. he isn’t sure if there has been anyone like this- whose every motion made hangyul’s stomach twist into a knot and made him suddenly overcome with the urge to kiss the other.

as the two walk down the beaten path, one of the lamps in front of them flickers for a few seconds. when the two walk below it, the lightbulb inside breaks and the rest of the stretch of sidewalk is pitch dark. hangyul feels yohan’s grip on his hand tighten. hangyul in an attempt to calm yohan down, squeezes back.

“hangyul ah-“ a voice all too familiar to hangyul calls out from the depths, prompting him to quickly release yohan’s hand and turn around.

“seungwoo, where the hell are you?” yohan confusingly watches as hangyul surveys their surroundings, eyes clouded and stance defensive.

“oh dear, you look a bit scared. i thought we were still friends.” the voice calls out once more, the sounds of footsteps drawing closer from the darkness in front of him. “listen here, hangyul. it’s probably obvious to you now. you know what you want. i’m just the messenger. you want to kill yohan, don’t you. make him yours. forever. that pretty smile… you can engrave it into him eternally. i don’t even need to tell you anymore, do i? you wanted this, hangyul. you’re fucking sick. do you get off on this shit? just do it. i won’t judge you. i don’t guarantee he will, though.” seungwoo appears in front of hangyul and places a hand on his shoulder. hangyul shivers. it feels like the time hangyul first met seungwoo.

something inside of hangyul snaps. there is suddenly a knife in his hand and a glimpse of intent in his eyes. hangyul slowly turns around and faces a terrified yohan, whose body has subconsciously already adopted a self-defense position.

“hangyul… what the fuck are you doing?” he attempts to call out, slowly backing away. but it is no use. whatever yohan may do, hangyul has already figured out. he is far too experienced now. he knows too much.

in a wave of intense desire, hangyul lunges towards yohan and thrusts the knife deep into his abdomen, pulling it out as quick as he put it in and hurriedly thrusts the knife back in deeper, repeating these motions until there are almost fifteen stab wounds that litter his body. hangyul has made sure not to dirty yohan’s face, however, and lovingly wipes a fleck of blood from his face, smearing it in the process. hangyul finds himself straddling the dead body and stands back up. when he looks at his hands, there is blood deep within the beds of his fingernails. what a pain it would be to clean up later.

suddenly, there is a loud flash of light. one of the buildings nearby suddenly lights up and there are lights that surround him. in fact, the entire area is flooded with light protruding from every angle. there is an abundance of blue and red and hangyul finds it hard to see through these colours. when he finally regains his own sanity and looks down at himself, he sees the mess he has made. god, the blood_!_ it shone in every shade of red possible. there was no doubt that yohan was dead and that hangyul was the murderer. but no- hangyul hadn’t murdered yohan. it had been seungwoo’s fault_!_

when the police come to arrest hangyul, he does not protest. in fact, he reaches out and displays his wrists to the cops who tell him to put his hands up and in turn gets a kick to the stomach. falling onto his knees, hangyul swears he can see seungwoo peering out from behind one of the many police cars. that bastard_!_

when hangyul looks back at the mess he has made for the last time, the colour from his face drains. yohan’s body is completely disfigured, mutilated beyond recognition. where was the man he had loved before? the person lying in the streets was not yohan. it was something else.

✝

hangyul thinks that prison life isn’t too bad. the court hearings are what is worse, however, and he dreads each moments he’s inside those cursed establishments. the jury refuses the believe him, despite the fact that he _is_ innocent. it was all seungwoo’s doings, after all. yet, when the detectives come back and visit his cell, they present photos of seungwoo’s room. the guest bedroom is empty and nothing has been moved since the last time hangyul moved in. it could not be- seungwoo had lived there for almost a year- how had things not changed?

when the detectives leave his cell and the lights go dim, a voice calls out to hangyul through the darkness. hangyul recognises this voice immediately. it’s _him_.

“so,” seungwoo sits at the back of the cell, filing away at his nails, “you finally realised, hm? come on hangyul, it was so obvious this entire time. i actually think you knew. who wouldn’t? you just wanted that lie to fall back on. to excuse your own actions. please_! _like an insane man can justify his own murders? you know yourself too well hangyul. there is no way you could have _ever_ thought i was actually real.” seungwoo stands up and makes his way towards the front of the cell where hangyul sits, all the life drained straight from him.

“i’m your subconscious, idiot. you’ve known this all along. don’t pretend you didn’t know.” seungwoo grabs hangyul’s chin and thrusts him against the wall. “this is the last you’ll see of me. you don’t need me anymore. you’ve already done the most you could have.” and with these words, seungwoo turns on his heels and heads the other way, disappearing into the darkness of the cell corner.

hangyul wants to scream. he doesn’t in the end.

**Author's Note:**

> I HAD SO MUCH FUN WRITING THIS LMAOOOOOOO  
in other words, i still have two ryeonseung fics i need to write and :D i am so behind 
> 
> connect with me!  
[tbz twitter](https://twitter.com/zhunyeon)  
[x1 twitter](https://twitter.com/KUROMlNHEE)  
[curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/091702)  
(i ult the boyz, starshipz, aoa, and ladies code!)


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